Veronica spicata |
Veronica persica |
|
---|---|---|
spike speedwell, véronique en épi |
bird's-eye speedwell, bird-eye speedwell, large field or bird's-eye speedwell, Persian speedwell, véronique de perse |
|
Habit | Perennials. | Annuals. |
Stems | ascending, usually with 4–10 nodes, 5–45(–60) cm, proximally eglandular- or glandular-hairy, sometimes glabrous, distally eglandular- and, usually, glandular-hairy. |
creeping to decumbent, 10–50(–60) cm, eglandular-hairy. |
Leaves | blade ovate-oblong to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, (30–)40–70(–80) × 5–20 mm, base long-cuneate, margins shallowly crenate to shallowly serrate to subentire, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces densely glandular- or eglandular-hairy, rarely glabrate. |
blade suborbiculate, broadly ovate, or broadly lanceolate, (6–)9–18(–30) × (5–)8–15(–20) mm, base truncate, margins serrate, apex acute, surfaces sparsely eglandular-hairy. |
Racemes | 1(–7), terminal, sometimes with lateral ones, (50–)70–130(–170) mm, (50–)100–300-flowered, axis eglandular- and glandular-hairy; bracts oblong to lanceolate, 3–5 mm. |
1–6, terminal, 100–500(–600) mm, 5–30-flowered, axis eglandular-hairy; bracts suborbiculate or broadly ovate or broadly lanceolate, (6–)9–18(–25) mm. |
Pedicels | suberect to patent, 0.5–1(–2) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy. |
spreading, deflexed in fruit, (12–)15–27(–38) mm, length 1–2(–3) times subtending bract, densely eglandular-hairy. |
Flowers | calyx lobes 2–3 mm, ciliate, apex obtuse, glandular-hairy, rarely eglandular-hairy; corolla blue, campanulate, longer than wide, 5–6 mm diam., lobes 3–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm; stamens 5 mm; style 8 mm. |
calyx lobes (4.5–)5.5–8(–9.5) mm, (1.7–)2.4–3.6(–4.2) mm wide, apex acuminate, eglandular-hairy; corolla intense bright blue, 8–14 mm diam.; stamens 1.2 mm; style (1.5–)2–2.8(–3.2) mm. |
Capsules | ± compressed in cross section, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent. |
compressed in cross section, broadly obcordiform, 4–6 × (5–)6–8.5(–9.5) mm, apex acute, sinus angle (80–)90–120(–150)°, reticulate with prominent veins, ± sparsely to densely eglandular- and/or glandular-hairy or glabrate. |
Seeds | 3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth. |
(10–)12–18(–20), pale brownish yellow, ellipsoid to globular, cymbiform, (1.3–)1.4–2.3(–2.5) × (0.8–)0.9–1.6(–1.9) mm, 0.5–1 mm thick, cristate-rugose. |
2n | = 34, 68 (Europe). |
= 28. |
Veronica spicata |
Veronica persica |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering (Jan–)Apr–Jul(–Dec). |
Habitat | Dry grasslands. | Roadsides, lawns, fields, waste places. |
Elevation | 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.) | 0–500(–2000) m. (0–1600(–6600) ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; sw Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (Michoacán, Veracruz), Central America, South America, Eurasia, e Asia, Africa, Atlantic Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia]
|
Discussion | Veronica spicata is widely distributed in horticulture and a multitude of cultivars is available. Some specimens may also be derived from a related species, V. barrelieri Schott ex Roemer & Schultes, differentiated from V. spicata by glabrous calyx lobes, and in its typical variety, by eglandular pubescence. Another closely related species, V. incana Linnaeus, has a dense white woolly indumentum and is native to northern Asia and eastern Europe; it has not escaped from cultivation in the flora area. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The names Veronica buxbaumii Tenore and V. tournefortii C. C. Gmelin (not V. ×tournefortii Villars) have been used for V. persica. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 308. | FNA vol. 17, p. 319. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. persica var. aschersoniana, V. persica var. corrensiana, V. tournefortii subsp. aschersoniana, V. tournefortii subsp. corrensiana | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753) | Poiret: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 8: 542. (1808) |
Web links |
|